By Joe Spring, Partner and Head of Estates and Wealth Planning, Steele Raymond
Most families don't have a single conversation about wealth. They have dozens, spread across years, prompted by life events. For example, school fees arrive, then university approaches, a child needs help with a deposit, and unfortunately a parent's health changes. Each moment has a financial dimension, and most of them are connected.
The families who handle this well aren't necessarily wealthier than those who don't. They've simply thought about it earlier.
School fees and education costs
Independent school fees across the South have risen sharply over the past decade. The removal of VAT exemption on private school fees, which took effect in January 2025, has added further pressure. For families with more than one child in private education, the total cost across prep and senior school can be substantial.
There are sensible ways to manage it. Grandparents can make regular gifts from surplus income free of inheritance tax, provided those gifts are genuinely regular and come from income rather than capital. Junior ISAs and bare trusts allow money to grow tax-efficiently for a child's future benefit. Some families use existing investment portfolios or life policies to plan for education costs years in advance.
None of this requires exceptional wealth. It requires a clear goal and enough time to work towards it.
Passing wealth between generations
Generational wealth transfer sounds technical. In practice, it comes down to a straightforward question: what do you want to happen, and have you put the right structures in place to make it happen?
Trusts are one of the most flexible tools available here. Used well, they protect assets, give families control over how and when money passes to the next generation, and offer real tax advantages. Discretionary trusts in particular can adapt to changing circumstances, which matters because family situations rarely stay the same.
The difficulty isn't the structure itself. It's that people set things up and then don't revisit them. Trust deeds become outdated. Wills written before a remarriage are revoked automatically by operation of law and the writer is unaware, or the arrival of grandchildren means that a Will no longer reflects current wishes. In our experience, most people assume their paperwork is in order. Often, it isn't.
Wills, inheritance tax and the changing landscape
Inheritance tax remains a live issue for many Dorset families, particularly those with property, agricultural land, or business interests built up over time.
The latest changes to agricultural and business property relief took effect from April 2026, and have prompted many families to review their position. Some have been planning carefully for years; others are just starting to think about it. Both groups benefit from the same thing: understanding what options are actually available before a decision is forced on them.
Early planning creates options. And options give families flexibility when circumstances change, as they always do.
Getting started
The clients we work with across Dorset aren't all managing inherited wealth or complex estates. Many have built something themselves, whether that is a business, a property portfolio, or a career, and want to make sure it passes on in the right way.
What they have in common is that they've had the conversation. With each other, and with their advisers.
If you're thinking about education costs, estate planning, or how to structure your assets for the next generation, the right time to start is usually sooner than you think. The earlier you act, the more choices you have.
Joe Spring is Partner and Head of the Estates and Wealth Planning team at Steele Raymond, with offices in Bournemouth, Southampton and Poundbury. For a confidential conversation, contact Joe at joespring@steeleraymond.co.uk or call 01202 204596.
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